In connection with casting of metals, there is a risk of defect formation occurring during the solidification process, i.e. when the liquid metal solidifies. When such defects occur, the entire product may need to be scrapped and typically re-melted. In worst case, the defect is not discovered until later, e.g. when the product fails, whereby product safety is compromised.
Some defects are related to the composition of the melt and can, in some cases and within some limits, be compensated for by providing additives to the melt
Hence, there is a need for predicting the behavior of the melt during the solidification process.
EP1032718B1 discloses a method of producing a compacted graphite iron casting or spheroidal graphite cast iron, wherein a sampling operation is performed for determining an amount of structure-modifying agent that is to be added to the melt in order to obtain the desired type of iron.
EP0805964B1 discloses a sample holder that may be used in the method of EP1032718B1.
There is still a need for improvements in the prediction of phase transformations, such as solidification processes.